The National Drops Box Set This June

THE NATIONAL ANNOUNCE BOXED SET

A Lot of Sorrow

FROM MoMA PS1 COLLABORATION WITH 

RAGNAR KJARTANNSON

The National collaborated with Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson on A Lot of Sorrow, a durational performance presented as part of  MoMA PS1’s Sunday Sessions.  Kjartansson, who often uses repetitive performance to explore collective experience and emotion, invited The National to play their three-minute, twenty-five second song “Sorrow” live on stage, repeatedly and continuously, for six hours. This incredible feat of endurance has become legendary, and the audio recording of the performance will be released as a limited edition 1,500 run vinyl boxed set by 4AD on June 22, 2015.

Featuring nine pieces of clear vinyl in clear sleeves held in a translucent, screen printed box, A Lot of Sorrow is now available for pre-order and will cost $150. All profits will be donated to Partners in Health, an organization dedicated to improve the health of impoverished people worldwide.  To pre-order visit [www.alotofsorrow.com].

Kjartansson, b. 1976, lives and works in Reykjavík. In October 2015, the artist will have a survey exhibition at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris. Recent solo shows have been held at the New Museum in New York, the Guggenheim Bilbao, the Migros Museum fur Gegenwartskunst in Zurich, and the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Turin. Song, his first American solo museum show, was organized by the Carnegie Museum of Art in 2011, and traveled to the Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami, and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. Kjartansson received the Derek Williams Trust Purchase Award at Artes Mundi 6 in 2015, as well as Performa’s 2011 Malcolm McLaren Award for his performance of Bliss, a twelve-hour live loop of the final aria of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro.

Formed in 1999, The National consists of vocalist Matt Berninger fronting two pairs of brothers: Aaron (guitar, bass, piano) and Bryce Dessner (guitar), and Scott (bass, guitar) and Bryan Devendorf (drums).The National has released six studio albums including their most recent release, the GRAMMY nominated Trouble Will Find Me whichdebuted at #3 on Billboard’ s Top 200, marking their largest first week of sales to date. The success of Trouble Will Find Me reached new audiences through appearances on Saturday Night Live, The Colbert Report, All Things Considered, The Mindy Project, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, CBS This Morning, Jimmy Kimmel Live! The Late Show with David Letterman, Conan and more.  In 2013 they released their documentary, “Mistaken For Strangers,” a hilarious and touching portrait of two brothers, Matt and Tom Berninger, set to the backdrop of the juggernaut of the band’s 2010 release High Violet, an album that sold over 600,000 copies. The documentary was chosen to premiere on the opening night of the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival followed by a theatrical release in the US and worldwide distribution. The National, known for their incredible live show, have headlined major venues around the world including Barclay’s Center, London’s O2 Arena and Sydney’s Opera House.